19 October 2012

We Onions love dictionaries. Love them, cherish them, use them daily*, rail
against them, defy them and play them off against each other. So it was hugely
interesting to watch this week as a dictionary updated itself in the public
eye. Prompted, in part, by Prime Minister Gillard's rousing speech in parliament,** the Macquarie dictionary this week announced they were broadening their definition of 'misogyny'.

To which the editor of the Macquarie responded. Sue Butler's explanation of the process by which the Macquarie definition
of 'misogyny' came to be expanded is a completely fascinating glimpse into how
dictionaries are made.

We know** editors have a reputation for being pedants, sticklers for
'correct' spelling, grammar and punctuation. But really, in some ways, the
reverse is true. To be a good editor you have to embrace the knowledge
that language - words and how we use them - is living, breathing and constantly
evolving. The question we ask of writers and writing is less often 'Is this
correct?', and more often 'Does this work?'

The discussion of 'misogyny' is a good reminder that, counter to what The
Australian seems to believe, language doesn't exist in a 'pure' vacuum
- it is inescapably political, social and cultural. It's affected by power and
privilege, by rebellion and revolt, by high culture and pop culture, by science
and technology, and humour, and the internetz, and life. It is invented and
reinvented, rejected and reclaimed, forgotten and revived and reinvigorated.
What a glorious thing! To the dictionaries!

12 October 2012

1) Fictitious Dishes. 'The
photographs in this series enter the lives of five fictional
characters and depict meals from the novels The Catcher in the Rye, Oliver
Twist, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and
Moby Dick.' Awesome.

4) And in further most-excellent-items news... Maureen McCarthy's fabulous
new novel The Convent is
out in the world now - after a big, wonderful, moving launch at the Abbotsford
Convent last week. Lookee look at the booktrailer!

3) It's Friday. What would you like to be doing best? Going on a 'sonic journey' as our colleague Jarvis Cocker reads a passage from Heart of Darkness accompanied by cellist Philip Sheppard? Thought so.

4) For $395,000 you can buy Ingleside. INGLESIDE! Surely we need a Canadian office, don't we Mothership? We promise to leave at least one Onion to run the Melbourne office. We were always a bit suss on her anyway.

* Don't pack away these winter doonas just yet, people. You don't want to freeze in the fickle Melbourne spring.** The onset of Daylight Savings is guaranteed to ever and always divide the night-owls from early-birds.